Tag: Zombie

The Titanic is arguably one of- if not the– most famous luxury liner ships in history with a tragic ending for most of the passengers that were aboard the ship. Out of the 2,224 women, children and men, only 710 survived… and most of the survivors were first class passengers. The Titanic had the ability to carry 64 life boats which would have been enough at capacity per boat to carry almost four thousand people- more than the ships passenger capacity. White Star Line, the company who owned the most luxurious ship of the time, decided that a total of twenty would be enough… which equates to only about half of the people on board to survive. The Titanic hit an iceberg in the dead of night in the Atlantic Ocean after receiving multiple warnings and not listening. We all know how the story goes… or do we?

Tip of the Iceberg follows the story we all know so well, seeing the Titanic set out on her maiden voyage but with a little known secret that rages aboard the world’s best ocean liner. We start out with Patrick, one of our main characters, playing a card game the night before the ship is due to set sail. In his card game, he ends up winning over his opponent and finds himself the new owner of a tiny monkey, Pandora. Esme Jackson, another main character, dreams of being able to get away from her current life and start anew with her sister Charlotte. As a way to get to America, she accepts a chambermaid job aboard the Titanic hoping to do a good enough job to stay on with the liner to be able to provide her sister and herself their new lives that lie within an arm’s reach. Bridget Grafton, new wife of the socialite Captain William Grafton who is the sole heir of Grafton Steel Co., finds herself stuck aboard the ship while her husband rubs elbows with the who’s who of socialites in both Europe and America. Things are normal aboard until people start mysteriously dying faster than anyone can figure out what’s wrong. Are all of the souls aboard the Titanic doomed before the ship hits the iceberg… could that be the reason for not heeding the warnings of what lies in the Atlantic’s waters ahead of them? How are three strangers lives intertwined with each other? Things are getting deadly aboard the ship, but will there be any survivors… and what about the dead body that bizarrely disappears without a trace?

I’ve never had the pleasure to read any of Ash Hartwell’s work until now, but I wanted this bad boy- I mean, come on, it’s about the Titanic. I remember when the movie with Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio came out I went to see it three times in the theater… which is a lot for a ten-year-old. I knew at the time that the story in the movie was fake but it was based on an actual ship and I was hooked; that obsession faded some over time but not completely. Skip forward many years and enter in Hartwell’s Tip of the Iceberg with a huge twist to the story we think we know- something horrific is going on aboard this ship. There are multiple attacks happening and bodies start disappearing in the middle of the ocean; it’s pretty scary to think about because there’s nowhere for the bodies to go. Hartwell’s take on what happened on the maiden voyage is innovative and is sure to leave you with images that will haunt you, make your insides knot up and keep you wanting more right up until the end.

First off, this epic and brilliant story written by Matt Richtel will leave you paranoid through the rest of your life… or for a while, at least. Richtel somehow acquires the perfect set of skills that reached out and got under my skin in this haunting, and yet disturbing, thriller as you are bumping through the pages with twists and paranoia through the whole journey as he unfolds the virus’s secrets. Lisa Gardner compared Matt Richtel as “Michael Crichton meets Stephen King at their finest,” which grabbed my attention to review this book. She hit the nail on the head on that one.

It starts off with Flight 194 landing as the world became dark; as they land, they come in contact with their worst fears. The details and skills that Richtel includes in his writing is so enriching that it keeps you grasping your pages as if they were a blanket covering your face. They realize soon enough in the story that this is an epidemic and with the main character Dr. Lyle Martin- a world-class infectious disease specialist- a new kind of lethal virus has surfaced that has affected the world, including Martin. Martin will take you on a journey you will never forget and will make your mind go blank at times with the shocking results he will find, as this new virus is nothing like he has ever seen before.

Dr. Lyle Martin and a few others, as they land, will come to the conclusion that everyone has died- the remaining that survives is no bigger than a handful- as they continue on to solve the mystery behind the virus that is running rampant. Will he ever know how for it goes as he investigates thoroughly to know how he can cure the problem? At what risks will he take to solve the cat and mouse game that is more of a breaded crumb tale of the best psychological thriller that Richtel has provided for us? My conclusion is, to everyone who reads this, be weary of what will come with the magic within his words; through every page, it will grip you tighter and tighter as you read on. You will not be able to put it down until the end.

Dead on Arrival is one of the best books that I have read this year. Richtel pulls you in from the very beginning, taking you back in time to fill in the characters plots, and makes you feel the connection between them as if his details brings you through and you do not know what is reality or not. Richtel is very professional and great story telling to its finest. In my eyes, he will forever be known as the person to make me rethink my knowledge and succumb my fears over the technology we have in our existence. I look forward to reading anything he comes out with, definitely with his imagination and his power of writing.